‘Staged’ Events for school marketing.

A number of events may be 'staged' for optimum media / marketing coverage throughout the year.

These events would most often be normal school events which would be heavily marketed, with a primary marketing aim of gaining some media coverage. The desired media involvement would be free coverage gained as a result of media releases and / or phone calls to key media people.

The main staged event for most schools is the Open Day.

Two other events, which have been found to be very successful at Aquinas College, were a special Phone-a-thon and a unique Liturgy.

The Phone-a-thon was set up with the local television station and went live to air during and after the local news and weather segments. The purpose was to track down past students from the College for an upcoming major school anniversary. The setting was a small room with a number of key people, including the Principal, a past Principal, staff member, student and Sschool Marketing Manager - all with telephones. The School Marketing Manager asked people to ring in details and also had a little 'chat' about the event with the host. The whole promotion went very well and was free of charge.

The Easter Liturgy is still covered yearly by the local television station and major newspaper. Its significance is its size, number of students in costume or otherwise involved, scenes and props used throughout the school campus and local church, and vision of whole school being involved with each new station of the cross.

Either the Principal, students or School Marketing Manager are interviewed by various media outlets each year.

Other events could be:

 the Night of Excellence / Awards Night
 a sports grand final game eg Firsts
 school musical
 a past students‟ event
 the school‟s feast day
 graduation day
 school formal.

The event, or aspects / moments within it, should be as unique as possible to gain media attention. The staged event then becomes the focus of a marketing campaign.

Written by Bryan Foster author. This is an extract from the section "'Staged Events'" in the 'School Marketing and the Media' chapter in School Marketing e-Handbook: Easy to Use Guide to Market Your School

When School Marketers experience the Difficult Media Situation comment to the media truthfully.

You do not need to give all the details but offer what is needed for the media enquiry allowing for privacy and ethical considerations.

This may be just a simple, “Thankyou for the enquiry. We will get back to you shortly.”

If the school decides to act on the request itself there are a number of approaches which should benefit the school:

 Be available for an interview in person or over the phone.

 Be positive and in control during the interview

 Appearance is important eg appropriate demeanour, dress, stance

 Control the backdrop for television or newspaper photo to get the positive visual message out that you want

 Answer all questions, but turn the answer to what you want to emphasise

 Having 3-4 key points is a good approach

 State the obvious, such as:
o no one was hurt, or unfortunately some people were injured
o damage to the property was significant or minimal
o the most important thing is that no-one was hurt, only property damage occurred and that this will be repaired as soon as possible or
o unfortunately some people were hurt and the school is currently doing everything possible for those people eg ambulance was called immediately, there will be ongoing medical assistance, school counsellor involved for those directly affected and others at school, other counsellors are coming from sister schools, etc.
o the school / principal is sorry that this unfortunate event occurred, all procedures have been followed and that everything possible will be done to ensure that this won‟t happen again. If updating procedures is necessary then this will be done immediately.

Follow-up

Be available to keep the media updated as the situation changes or developments are made.

Written by Bryan Foster author. This is an extract from the section 'The Difficult Media Situation' in the 'School Marketing and the Media' chapter in School Marketing e-Handbook: Easy to Use Guide to Market Your School
 

School Marketers will on occasion experience the Difficult Media Situation.

Sometimes the media request an interview with no forewarning.

This usually happens when a story is considered "big". This may be when something controversial or of a significant status has occurred and the media wants to run with that story on that day or the next.

Examples of these would include:

 a disaster where the school has had major damage, such as from a major storm or fire
 a staff member or student has been allegedly involved with something illegal
 a former student has done something highly successful, controversial or allegedly illegal
 the government or city council have or will make a decision that impacts significantly on the school, etc.

School's Response

In this case initially you need to advise the media that the school, through the principal, yourself or someone else, will speak with them shortly.

You have every right to consider your options before speaking.

It is often best to contact the systemic Communications Manager, if such a role exists. This manager is usually familiar with best practice for such events. The manager will either become directly involved and speak on behalf of the school or offer suggestions on the best approach. The manager may also contact others within or outside the system who may be able to offer advice eg lawyers, building or insurance advisors / consultants, counsellors, etc.

Offering a “No comment” is often fraught with potential misinterpretation or even worse, taking the story according to the information they have which may not be the truth or whole truth. Comment truthfully.

You do not need to give all the details but offer what is needed for the media enquiry allowing for privacy and ethical considerations.

Written by Bryan Foster author. This is an extract from the section 'The Difficult Media Situation' in the 'School Marketing and the Media' chapter in School Marketing e-Handbook: Easy to Use Guide to Market Your School
 

Do not fear the media but be prepared!
All you are ever likely to need to know about dealing successfully with the media.
This chapter will help you deal with the journalists, photojournalists and others to gain the best result for your school.
You are in charge but need to appreciate the role these people play in marketing your school.
The big challenges of writing media releases and editorials (stories) is clearly explained here. There are even samples to view!
 
Headings

Media
Media Releases
Writing a Media Release
Sample Media Release
Media Interview
Journalists at School
Photojournalists at School
Editorial from the School
Sample Editorial
The Difficult Media Situation
‘Staged’ events
 
Written by Bryan Foster Author of School Marketing e-Handbook: Easy to Use Guide to Market Your School